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One solution was the proposed electrification of the line, but that has been delayed, which means trains will continue to be serviced and repaired at the site.

"We have a responsibility for the health of residents and the status quo cannot be allowed to continue."

The council has stated it is willing to consider all “reasonable proposals” to resolve the issue.

Councillor Tony Page, Reading Borough Council’s lead member for Strategic Environment, Planning and Transport, said: “It is regrettable that the council has had to take this action, but it follows years of inactivity from both GWR/FGW and Network Rail on this important issue.

"In the meantime residents in Cardiff Road continue to suffer from noise disturbance and sleepless nights as a result of the noisy diesel trains that continue to be serviced from the enlarged Reading Train Care Depot.

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“If electrification had been delivered on time, it would have meant by the end of 2017 far fewer diesel trains would have been serviced in Reading.

"The recent collapse of the electrification programme however, and the lack of any clarity of timescales, means there is no end in sight to the misery for residents.

"We have commissioned acoustic and other experts, and having now established that a statutory nuisance prejudicial to health exists, the council clearly has little option but to proceed to serve the legal notices.

"We sincerely hope that it brings both Network Rail and GWR to the table for serious consideration of this matter.